Karagöz y Hacivat

Karagöz y Hacivat son dos marionetas planas de cuero en colores. Representan personajes arquetípicos tradicionales. No son las únicas, hay otras, pero nuestros amigos turcos nos envían en este post información referente a esta pareja. Se usan situando un proyector detrás de la pantalla usando material traslúcido para las marionetas.
Estos personajes existen desde hace siglos. Karagöz tiene ojos negros, barba redondeada y turbante achatado con pluma, pero todos saben que es calvo porque el turbante se le cae a menudo. Hacivat tiene tanto la barba con el turbante acabados en punta. Ambos llevan calzones hasta la pantorrilla y zuecos.
Cada uno representa una clase social. Karagöz es casi analfabeto, el tonto del pueblo. Se engancha al hablar y la gente se ríe de él. Pero también se atreve a decir cosas que otros no dirían. Es un patoso. Si encuentra trabajo lo echan enseguida porque es un desastre, pero a pesar de todo siempre se hace notar y cree llevar razón.

Hacivat es culto, educado y muy profesional. Se explica muy bien con un amplio vocabulario que a menudo confunde a Karagöz. Le toca ser paciente con él cuando malinterpreta algo o actúa con torpeza. Pasa la mayor parte del tiempo dándole explicaciones a Karagöz o ayudándole a encontrar trabajo.
Estos dos personajes han mantenido este formato durante generaciones. Siempre comienzan su actuación con una canción, luego Hacivat visita a Karagöz y lo encuentra durmiendo y entonces ya el hecho de despertarse de repente le produce desconcierto. Entonces discuten y ya entran en conversación. Al final de la función siempre se disculpan por las posibles inconveniencias y termina con una marioneta de una mujer muy sensual que baila con una pandereta.
Existen otros personajes secundarios muy conocidos como Bebe Ruhi, una duendecilla, el juglar negro, el presumido Selebi, Tiryaki, un adicto al opio que se pasa el tiempo en los bares, el leñador Baba Himmet de Anatolia, y el fanfarrón Tuzsuz Deli Bekir que es un matón. Aparte de éstos, también hay otras marionetas de otras nacionalidades que tuvieron contacto con el Imperio Otomano y que también reflejan su posición dentro de la sociedad otomana.
Lo que ha mantenido el interés por estos personajes es que conservan su tipismo. Es comedia satírica en la que se comenta la política, los deportes y los asuntos de la vida social de un modo que hace reír. Sirven para decir en voz alta lo que ninguna persona real se atrevería jamás a pronunciar.

Invitamos a los que se manejan en inglés a leer el texto que han enviado nuestros amigos turcos. En él se puede leer parte de los diálogos de estos personajillos. No los traducimos al castellano porque la versión inglesa ha sido elaborada junto con los autores originales y está trabajada para mantener las rimas y los juegos de significado que a nosotros nos sería imposible conseguir al no conocer la sociedad turca suficientemente.

Nos remiten a una publicación de la arqueóloga Isik Soytürk titulada 1001 colors of Anatolia que es un libro para niños con pegatinas y recortables de estos personajes en formato A-4 .

¿Os recuerdan a alguna pareja cómica estos personajes? Una pista: ¿hace mucho que no vais al circo?

Originally hailing from Bursa, now they form an important exhibit in the arts and cultural museum there. Bursa was originally the Ottoman capital, before the fall of Constantinople. This lovely city, nestled at the foot of the imposing Uludağ Mountain, is the home of many Ottoman arts and crafts, as well as old buildings and, of course, traditional dishes such as İskender kebabı.

Unlike shadow puppets I am used to (rabbits made by cleverly folding your fingers in front of a projector) the Turkish shadow puppets of Karagöz and Hacivat are in full-color silhouette, not black and white. This feature is achieved by the technique of situating the projector behind the screen, and using translucent material for the puppets.

Karagöz and Hacivat have kept their style over the centuries. Karagöz is named for his pitch black eyes. He has a rounded beard and wears a huge turban with a feather in it. Karagöz is bald and this is exposed whenever his turban is knocked off. Hacivat has a pointed beard and a pointed turban. Both wear three-quarter-length breeches and clog-like shoes.

The two puppets represent different classes in Turkish society. Karagöz is poorly educated; he can hardly read and write. He is the village idiot. As such he often muddles words up, and this makes everyone laugh. But, like children, he can also say things that others do not dare say. Sadly, he is very clumsy. If he can find a job, he normally makes a complete mess of things and loses it quickly. But he still claims to be right, and to know it all.

Hacivat is well-educated, well-mannered and comes from the professional class. His speech is polite, and he has a wide vocabulary, which confuses poor Karagöz much of the time. He is always kind to his friend, though, and is endlessly patient with his failure to grasp the subject of the conversation, or his clumsy actions. Hacivat spends a lot of time explaining things to Karagöz, or helping him find a job.

The Karagöz-Hacivat play has kept its format through the generations, too. They always start the show with a song. Then Hacivat arrives at Karagöz's house and calls to him from below. Karagöz, who is dozing by the window-sill, gets cross at being awoken. They argue for a little while, then they get into conversation. At the end of the show they always apologize for any unpleasant things they may have said to each other. Then a puppet of a beautiful woman comes on stage and finishes the show by dancing to a tambourine.

The auxiliary characters of the lady, Bebe Ruhi (a dwarf) and the black minstrel are also traditional. Çelebi is a dandy, and Tiryaki is an opium addict who spends his time in the coffeehouses. Anatolia Baba Himmet is a woodcutter and Swaggering Tuzsuz Deli Bekir is a bully. Characters named after different nations have traditional professions, reflecting their status in Ottoman society: Laz is a boatman, wool-beater or tinsmith, Kurd is the night watchman, Persian is a trader in materials and carpets, Arab is a trader in shawls, Albanian sells boza or is a gardener, Greek is a medical man, Armenian is the head of a family, and Jew is a moneylender or second-hand dealer.

What has kept Turkish audiences loving Karagöz and Hacivat over the ages is that, although the puppets are traditional, they keep their topicality. Just like "The Tonight Show," this theater is satirical comedy. Karagöz and Hacivat discuss the events of the day. They criticize each other, make jokes and exchange good advice. They comment on politics, sport and current affairs. They make the audience laugh. And poor Karagöz will often draw the heartiest laughs and the loudest applause as he is bold enough to make the statements that everyone else is too politically correct to utter.

Archaeologist Işık Soytürk, in her "1001 Colors of Anatolia" series, introduces us to these traditional heroes. In Turkish, English and German, she gives us a little information about them and presents a play in which the two heroes are discussing traffic rules and road safety. This delightful short book for children includes five A-4 pages of puppets to cut out and color, and a page of Karagöz-Hacivat stickers.

True to the Karagöz-Hacivat tradition Soytürk's show starts with a song, sung by Hacivat as he arrives at Kargöz's house:

"The play you are about to see

Tries to shed light on society

Life is long and can teach us well

It provides the ideas for the stories we tell

Many people are good, others seem bad

Sometimes we are happy, at other times sad, but...

If you treat others fair and try to act right

Then your life will be peaceful, sunny and bright."

As this example shows, the translators, Yelda Diker and Andrea Dillon-Körner, have worked hard not just to translate from Turkish to English, but also to adapt the English text so it rhymes.

They are similarly successful in dealing with the word plays, when Karagöz misunderstands Hacivat, or commits a malapropism:

Hacivat: Hello, my dear Karagöz! Come here.

Karagöz: What do you mean, "Can you hear?" Of course I can hear!

Hacivat: What do you see at the intersection?

Karagöz: What is it? What is it? I see many insects down there.

Hacivat: Keep an eye on the crossing point over there.

Karagöz: Oh don't worry! I'll keep an eye on that croissant. Don't worry!

This is the third edition of the book. I look forward to the revision of the second volume which, like the former edition of "Karagöz and Hacivat - 1," is just a translation from Turkish to English, without the necessary adaptations, so the word plays and puns are totally lost in translation.

So, if you get invited to a Karagöz and Hacivat play, in their famous words "My love, assist me to have some fun..." you are in for some traditional Turkish entertainment!